Course Description

The Can’t Miss Diagnosis series focuses on diseases that are relatively rare, difficult to diagnose, and catastrophic when diagnosis and treatment are delayed. The key to good outcomes for these diseases is to be prepared in advance to recognize and treat them, and to address individual cases with a high index of suspicion for disorders that are infrequently seen.

Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is a devastating threat to life and limb that is too often mistaken for a superficial skin infection. Mere hours of delay in treating NF with emergency surgical debridement can result in repeated surgeries—5, 10, even 40 returns to the operating room—ending in massive loss of tissue and function, disfigurement, and often amputation of an affected limb.

In this course, you will learn about the signs and symptoms of NF and the appropriate emergency management to achieve best outcomes.